scholarly journals Distinct nucleosome distribution patterns in two structurally and functionally differentiated nuclei of a unicellular eukaryote

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Xiong ◽  
Shan Gao ◽  
Wen Dui ◽  
Wentao Yang ◽  
Xiao Chen ◽  
...  

The ciliate protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila contains two types of structurally and functionally differentiated nuclei: the transcriptionally active somatic macronucleus (MAC) and the transcriptionally silent germ-line micronucleus (MIC). Here we demonstrate that MAC features well-positioned nucleosomes downstream of transcription start sites (TSS) likely connected with promoter proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II, as well as in exonic regions flanking both the 5′ and 3′ splice sites. In contrast, nucleosomes in MIC are more delocalized. Nucleosome occupancy in MAC and MIC are nonetheless highly correlated with each other and with predictions based upon DNA sequence features. Arrays of well-positioned nucleosomes are often correlated with GC content oscillations, suggesting significant contributions from cis-determinants. We propose that cis- and trans-determinants may coordinately accommodate some well-positioned nucleosomes with important functions, driven by a process in which positioned nucleosomes shape the mutational landscape of associated DNA sequences, while the DNA sequences in turn reinforce nucleosome positioning.

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 3290-3300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chanhyo Lee ◽  
Xiaoyong Li ◽  
Aaron Hechmer ◽  
Michael Eisen ◽  
Mark D. Biggin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Recent analyses of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) revealed that Pol II is concentrated at the promoters of many active and inactive genes. NELF causes Pol II to pause in the promoter-proximal region of the hsp70 gene in Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, genome-wide location analysis (chromatin immunoprecipitation-microarray chip [ChIP-chip] analysis) revealed that NELF is concentrated at the 5′ ends of 2,111 genes in Drosophila cells. Permanganate genomic footprinting was used to determine if paused Pol II colocalized with NELF. Forty-six of 56 genes with NELF were found to have paused Pol II. Pol II pauses 30 to 50 nucleotides downstream from transcription start sites. Analysis of DNA sequences in the vicinity of paused Pol II identified a conserved DNA sequence that probably associates with TFIID but detected no evidence of RNA secondary structures or other conserved sequences that might directly control elongation. ChIP-chip experiments indicate that GAGA factor associates with 39% of the genes that have NELF. Surprisingly, NELF associates with almost one-half of the most highly expressed genes, indicating that NELF is not necessarily a repressor of gene expression. NELF-associated pausing of Pol II might be an obligatory but sometimes transient checkpoint during the transcription cycle.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (20) ◽  
pp. e129-e129
Author(s):  
Hector Zenil ◽  
Peter Minary

AbstractWe introduce and study a set of training-free methods of an information-theoretic and algorithmic complexity nature that we apply to DNA sequences to identify their potential to identify nucleosomal binding sites. We test the measures on well-studied genomic sequences of different sizes drawn from different sources. The measures reveal the known in vivo versus in vitro predictive discrepancies and uncover their potential to pinpoint high and low nucleosome occupancy. We explore different possible signals within and beyond the nucleosome length and find that the complexity indices are informative of nucleosome occupancy. We found that, while it is clear that the gold standard Kaplan model is driven by GC content (by design) and by k-mer training; for high occupancy, entropy and complexity-based scores are also informative and can complement the Kaplan model.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Ard ◽  
Quentin Thomas ◽  
Bingnan Li ◽  
Jingwen Wang ◽  
Vicent Pelechano ◽  
...  

SUMMARYHigher organisms achieve optimal gene expression by tightly regulating the transcriptional activity of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) along DNA sequences of genes1. RNAPII density across genomes is typically highest where two key choices for transcription occur: near transcription start sites (TSSs) and polyadenylation sites (PASs) at the beginning and end of genes, respectively2,3. Alternative TSSs and PASs amplify the number of transcript isoforms from genes4, but how alternative TSSs connect to variable PASs is unresolved from common transcriptomics methods. Here, we define TSS/PAS pairs for individual transcripts in Arabidopsis thaliana using an improved Transcript Isoform sequencing (TIF-seq) protocol and find on average over four different isoforms corresponding to variable TSS/PAS pairs per expressed gene. While intragenic initiation represents a large source of regulated isoform diversity, we discover that ∼ 14% of expressed genes generate relatively unstable short promoter-proximal RNAs (sppRNAs) from nascent transcript cleavage and polyadenylation shortly after initiation. The location of sppRNAs coincides with increased RNAPII density, indicating these large pools of promoter-stalled RNAPII across genomes are often engaged in transcriptional termination. RNAPII elongation factors progress transcription beyond sites of sppRNA formation, demonstrating RNAPII density near promoters represents a checkpoint for early transcriptional termination that governs full-length gene isoform expression.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 737-746
Author(s):  
D Eide ◽  
P Anderson

The transposable element Tc1 is responsible for most spontaneous mutations that occur in Caenorhabditis elegans variety Bergerac. We investigated the genetic and molecular properties of Tc1 transposition and excision. We show that Tc1 insertion into the unc-54 myosin heavy-chain gene was strongly site specific. The DNA sequences of independent Tc1 insertion sites were similar to each other, and we present a consensus sequence for Tc1 insertion that describes these similarities. We show that Tc1 excision was usually imprecise. Tc1 excision was imprecise in both germ line and somatic cells. Imprecise excision generated novel unc-54 alleles that had amino acid substitutions, amino acid insertions, and, in certain cases, probably altered mRNA splicing. The DNA sequences remaining after Tc1 somatic excision were the same as those remaining after germ line excision, but the frequency of somatic excision was at least 1,000-fold higher than that of germ line excision. The genetic properties of Tc1 excision, combined with the DNA sequences of the resulting unc-54 alleles, demonstrated that excision was dependent on Tc1 transposition functions in both germ line and somatic cells. Somatic excision was not regulated in the same strain-specific manner as germ-line excision was. In a genetic background where Tc1 transposition and excision in the germ line was not detectable, Tc1 excision in the soma still occurred at high frequency.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2545-2552
Author(s):  
J R Murti ◽  
M Bumbulis ◽  
J C Schimenti

Gene conversion is the nonreciprocal transfer of genetic information between two related genes or DNA sequences. It can influence the evolution of gene families, having the capacity to generate both diversity and homogeneity. The potential evolutionary significance of this process is directly related to its frequency in the germ line. While measurement of meiotic inter- and intrachromosomal gene conversion frequency is routine in fungal systems, it has hitherto been impractical in mammals. We have designed a system for identifying and quantitating germ line gene conversion in mice by analyzing transgenic male gametes for a contrived recombination event. Spermatids which undergo the designed intrachromosomal gene conversion produce functional beta-galactosidase (encoded by the lacZ gene), which is visualized by histochemical staining. We observed a high incidence of lacZ-positive spermatids (approximately 2%), which were produced by a combination of meiotic and mitotic conversion events. These results demonstrate that gene conversion in mice is an active recombinational process leading to nonparental gametic haplotypes. This high frequency of intrachromosomal gene conversion seems incompatible with the evolutionary divergence of newly duplicated genes. Hence, a process may exist to uncouple gene pairs from frequent conversion-mediated homogenization.


Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
L.D. Etkin ◽  
B. Pearman

We analysed the fate, expression and germ line transmission of exogenous DNA which was microinjected into fertilized eggs of Xenopus laevis. DNA was injected into fertilized eggs within 1 h following fertilization. The injected DNA was dispersed around the site of injection and became localized to cleavage nuclei by stage 6. Injected DNA persisted in the tissues of 6- to 8-month-old frogs and exhibited a mosaic pattern of distribution with regard to the presence or absence and copy number between different tissues. We detected the exogenous DNA sequences in 60% of injected frogs. Restriction digestion analysis of this DNA suggested that it is not rearranged and was organized as head-to-tail multimers. The copy number varied from 2 to 30 copies/cell in various tissues of the same frog. Plasmid pSV2CAT which contains the prokaryotic gene coding for chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) enzyme linked to the SV40 early gene promoter was expressed in 50% of the animals containing the gene. The pattern of expression, however, varied between different animals and could not be correlated with copy number. We also showed that the exogenous DNA sequences were transmitted through the male germ line and that each offspring contained the gene integrated into a different region of the genome.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 5782-5795 ◽  
Author(s):  
D K Wiest ◽  
D K Hawley

Transcription from the adenovirus major late (ML) promoter has previously been shown to pause or terminate prematurely in vivo and in vitro at a site within the first intron of the major late transcription unit. We are studying the mechanism of elongation arrest at this site in vitro to define the DNA sequences and proteins that determine the elongation behavior of RNA polymerase II. Our assay system consists of a nuclear extract prepared from cultured human cells. With standard reaction conditions, termination is not observed downstream of the ML promoter. However, in the presence of Sarkosyl, up to 80% of the transcripts terminate 186 nucleotides downstream of the start site. Using this assay, we showed that the DNA sequences required to promote maximal levels of termination downstream of the ML promoter reside within a 65-base-pair region and function in an orientation-dependent manner. To test whether elongation complexes from the ML promoter were functionally homogeneous, we determined the termination efficiency at each of two termination sites placed in tandem. We found that the behavior of the elongation complexes was different at these sites, with termination being greater at the downstream site over a wide range of Sarkosyl concentrations. This result ruled out a model in which the polymerases that read through the first site were stably modified to antiterminate. We also demonstrated that the ability of the elongation complexes to respond to the ML termination site was promoter specific, as the site did not function efficiently downstream of a heterologous promoter. Taken together, the results presented here are not consistent with the simplest class of models that have been proposed previously for the mechanism of Sarkosyl-induced termination.


Genetics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Cassidy-Hanley ◽  
M C Yao ◽  
P J Bruns

Abstract A method for mapping DNA sequences to specific germinal chromosomes in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila has been developed. This mapping technique (PCR mapping) utilizes the polymerase chain reaction and template DNA derived from nullisomic strains to directly assign micronuclear DNA sequences to specific micronuclear chromosomes. Using this technique, a number of unique sequences and short repetitive sequences flanked by unique sequences have been mapped to four of the five germinal chromosomes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar ◽  
Malyaj R Prajapati ◽  
Surendra Upadhyay ◽  
Anamika Bhordia ◽  
Vinod Kumar Singh ◽  
...  

Abstract The present report communicates the first complete genome sequence of Brucella abortus 2308 strain isolated from a an abortion storm in a dairy farm located at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh in India. It caused the last trimester abortions of 32 animals out of 100 cows in a dairy over a period of 60 days. The bacteria were isolated in pure culture from the placenta of aborted cows. The genome sequence length of isolated bacteria is 3,285,606 bp with a 57.25 % GC content, an N50 value of 296,426, L50 value of 4 containing 3,119 coding DNA sequences (CDSs), 49 tRNAs, 1 transfer messenger RNA (mRNA), and 3 rRNA genes. It is the first report of Brucella abortus 2308 isolation and complete genome sequence from Indian subcontinent.


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